Varanasi

The last few days in Darjeeling were fun. We wanted to visit the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute which was located (believe it or not) inside the zoo. The HMI was great, with a superb museum charting the history of mountaineering in the Himalayas and containing some extraordinary artifacts, such as the actual flag raised by Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay on the first ever conquest of Everest. The zoo, however, was less inspiring. I've never really understood conservation, and witnessing a large group of Indian tourists stood in front of a “Silence Please” sign, clapping to attract a Himalayan Snow Leopard from one side of its tiny cage to the other, hasn't helped. We also went to see a band play at a bar called Buzz. Whilst we enjoyed ourselves the music was reminiscent of being stuck in a lift! For anyone considering a trip to Darjeeling I cannot recommend more highly the Aliment Guesthouse. The owner is a Nepali Indian and former Gurkha in the British Army who has lived all over the world. We enjoyed many fascinating conversations with him and some great breakfasts cooked by his friendly family. We got the Toy Train down the mountain as far as Kuresong and then got a taxi for the last part of the journey to Siliguri. The night train to Varanasi was only delayed by an hour or so and we chatted to a lady from Rajasthan for some time before hitting the hay.

Varanasi is considered by many Hindus as the holiest place in India, and subsequently one of the holiest places in the world. It is situated on the river Ganga and many people come here to bath in the water and even to die (dieing here brings release from the cycle of death and re-birth). The water is described by our guide book as “septic” and contains over 1.5 million faecal coliform bacteria per 100ml (in water that is safe for bathing this figure should be less than 500!). The irony of the holiest river in India also being the filthiest is not lost on me ;o) Whilst Varanasi is certainly the dirtiest, smelliest place I have ever visited, it is also probably the most fascinating. The river is lined with Ghats, some of which are used for public cremations and others for evening ceremonies. Wondering along the riverside and through the narrow alley ways of the surrounding area is just the most fantastic experience, with all sorts of crazy things happening such as boys washing herds of cows, men deep in prayer repeatedly dunking themselves violently in the river, people selling anything from head massages to drugs and, of course, the sights and smells one might associate with burning corpses. There are lots of “travelers” here, although they seem to spend much of their time sitting in cafes in groups, adorned in ridiculous orange, baggy trousers, waiting around for their afternoon sitar/yoga/hindi/tabalah lesson. I really don’t understand what it is about travelling in India that makes people dress up in ridiculous fancy dress? No Indian people wear these clothes; they clearly make them based on demand from tourists….most strange.

We took an early morning boat ride along the Ganga on our first day to see the sunrise and the early morning bathing. The funeral ghats are burning bodies 24 hours a day, but photography is strictly forbidden (I managed a few cheeky shots from distance though). We have also been silk shopping and bought a few bits and bobs. We took our first cycle rickshaw ride yesterday. We chose the oldest, slowest man of all (seriously, we could have walked faster) and we were concerned that he might not make it. I think he was happy with our generous tip. We have had a couple of Yoga lessons with a friendly old Calcuttan man called Bubla. Whilst we have enjoyed them and are keen to learn more about the physical advantages, we are less interested in the religious/spiritual side to it (he is also an Astrologer). We are also a little skeptical of his claims that he’d rather have our love than our money as these are almost always backed up by stories of grand sums of money given to him by his previous “loving” students.

Steve left us yesterday evening, on a train bound for Calcutta to catch his flight back to the UK tomorrow. It has been fun having friends from home to travel with over the last month and I can’t believe we are now half way through our time in India and will be back in the UK in just seven weeks! We’ve booked a train to Jhansi on Sunday and from there we will go to Orchha. We hope to stay in the Maharajah’s Retreat for my birthday. Afterwards we plan to tour around Rajasthan before heading up to Delhi to fly home for Christmas.

Whilst we have many more photos to upload, the computer and internet connection are pathetic so it's not going to happen today.

Darjeeling part deux

We got up at the obscene hour of 4am this morning to catch a jeep ride out to Tiger Point. From here you can watch the sunrise over the Himalayas in Nepal and can even see the very tip of Mount Everest in the distance. It's hardly a unique experience however, with a couple of thousand Indian tourists snapping away with big, clumsy cameras and about 300 4x4's churning out thick black diesel smoke. We decided to hike the 12 or so kilometers back to Darjeeling, via a monastery in Ghoom. Apart from a brief uphill detour that lead to an impassable army checkpoint, we managed to successfully navigate our way back to Darjeeling (although the 5 hour walk nearly killed me).

Darjeeling

After a 26 hour door-to-door trip involving a night train, three taxi journeys and a 4 hour white knuckle ride through the mountains in a jeep, we arrived in the mist-shrouded darkness of Darjeeling. There was little to do upon arrival than eat some well earned food in the restaurant and then hit the sack. Unfortunately our slumber was interrupted at the hour of 6am by a member of the ridiculously friendly family who own the Aliment Guesthouse, rapping on our door to inform us that the sky was clear and the mountains were visible from the roof (a relative rarity in Darjeeling). Despite his good intentions, I managed to refrain from throttling him Homer Simpson style, politely declined his invitation and went back to sleep for three hours. Fortunately, we were treated to a pretty good view of the mountains today, which include 4 of the worlds 5 highest peaks (or something like that).

Yesterday we visited the Happy Valley Tea Plantation in the morning for a brief tour of the plantation and a tasting of their finest blend. Afterwards we headed up to the Windamere Hotel for afternoon tea. Although ridiculously expensive, it was worth it to see the splendid colonial buildings where you can easily imagine fat, moustached, umbrella-touting Victorians enjoying a cucumber sandwich and a pot of Darjeeling tea on the veranda. In the afternoon we made the long, complicated walk down to the Tibetan Refugees' Self Help Centre only to find it closed for the day. Today we plan to book tickets on the Toy Train for the journey back down to New Jalpaiguri on Monday as we missed it on the way up due to the delayed night train from Calcutta.

The "hanger on" in the photos is Steve, a homeless Tibetan we have befriended ;o)

Calcutta Pics

Although much of our time in Calcutta was spent in the hotel room attempting to shake off our most recently acquired illnesses, we did manage a trip out to the Victoria Memorial, which provided a refreshing alternative to the drab, frankly depressing tourist area around Sudder Street. We didn't find much to write home about in Calcutta, which doesn't necessarily mean it's not there, but does mean that the city failed to inspire us.

Calcutta

After a few more days in Palolem we headed up to Panaji for a couple of nights. On the Wednesday we went to Anjuna flea market which was cool. It's so early in the season that the market is a fraction of it's size in the peak of the tourist months, but on the flip side this meant that prices were at their lowest. We all bought a few bits and bobs and thoroughly enjoyed the bartering game. In Panaji we all had deep cleansing facials at an incredibly fancy beauty salon and spent some time enjoying Dosa Masalas at the Kamrat hotel and wandering around the shops. On Thursday night we got the night train to Bombay. We all slept fairly well and the journey was relatively uneventful. It was a little uncomfortable for me as, in keeping with our collective run of bad health, I came down with a sore throat which worsened considerably and saw me having to exit a Bombay restaurant on the double yesterday afternoon for fear of feinting, throwing up all over the table, or both. My illness unfortunately scuppered grand plans to dine at the Taj Hotel last night which is a real shame. I felt half dead upon being woken by the alarm at 6am this morning, but survived the unnecessarily frantic taxi journey to Mumbai airport, a very pleasant domestic flight with Jet Airways and a second sweaty taxi ride through Calcutta to our hotel. We had booked a room at a hotel but, after seeing it, we decided an upgrade was necessary so have pushed the boat out a little for the 9 quid a night "Hotel Super". First impressions of Calcutta are surprisingly good - we had serious fears as it's reputation for poverty and general squalor precedes it, however these seem relatively unfounded.

Palolem

Yep, still in Palolem. Atmosphere soured slightly by an outbreak of conjunctivitis, which both Rew and Jim have, but Emma and I have as yet avoided (somehow). In a cruel and unusual twist I have what appears to be an ear infection, although I'm not ruling out some kind of bizarre psychological, subconscious sympathy illness. However, in an effort to counter this terrible luck, we're drinking as much Kingfisher as possible.

Back in Palolem

Still in Palolem, basically just dividing our time between bars and the beach. Having a great time, but sooner or later the laughing has to stop. We'll be heading back up to Panjim to go to Anjuna market early next week, then bid our friends farewell and fly across to Calcutta. More photos coming soon.